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honestly, education has become much more big business than it was when you were roping steers for credits.

One of the more miserable summers was hauling hay--back when they were square bales we had to throw on the trailer and handstack. Now its all round bales and you use a tractor to stack. Course, I had a nice set of muscles back then from throwing those bales.

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One of the more miserable summers was hauling hay--back when they were square bales we had to throw on the trailer and handstack. Now its all round bales and you use a tractor to stack. Course, I had a nice set of muscles back then from throwing those bales.

I helped my best friend stack hay around 4-5 years ago. I was not invited back. He did get a good laugh out of it though.

I dont even know if they had student loans in the 80's when I went to school. 1980's, not 1880's. I worked the whole time putting myself through school with some summer school and some working summers too. And STILL had time to drink a hell of alot of delicious Miller Lite and chase chicks. Thus, Im mystified how you guys run up 100 grand in college costs.

In my case, I had wife (with $+20K job) and a kid (eventually two). Graduate teaching doesn't pay much. It was the extra costs like food and daycare that ran up the bill.

In general though, the cost of education has been far outpacing even medical costs for quite a long time now. The big separation between education and general goods began back in the early 80's (about the time the skill premium began to rise).

I managed to pay off about a quarter of my student loans post-graduation (living at home, yay), but I still have to shell out roughly $200 a month on the minimum plan just to keep the interest at bay. Thankfully a scholarship paid for me to live and eat on campus, but I definitely regret focusing strictly on grades versus getting a part time job. I tutored my senior year, but even just a hundred bucks a week at a part-time gig would have been a huge help when it came time to pay up. I'll definitely help my hypothetical kids the way my folks helped me, but I'm also making sure the little bastards are waiting tables or something on the weekends for their own good.

EDIT: Having one of the world's most useless degrees probably doesn't help either.

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In general though, the cost of education has been far outpacing even medical costs for quite a long time now. The big separation between education and general goods began back in the early 80's (about the time the skill premium began to rise).

Yeah, that sounds about right to me. The idea of working through school and graduating without debt sounds just as foreign to me as I'm sure a 100k student loan does to CBear. I think I was looking at about 15k worth of academic cost (tuition, books, fees, etc.) a year. And this was for a public, in-state school. I worked 30+ hrs a week just for rent (at a cheap, off campus apartment), food, gas, etc. I make a lot more now than I did at my crap job in college, but I'd still have to take out a loan, even with my current salary.

In the end though, I'm satisfied. Sure, there are some choices I might have made differently and I'll gladly pass on that advice to my future kids when the time come. But at the risk of sounding like I have a chip on my shoulder, I think I greatly over acheived when I look at the help I had. My mom always encouraged good grades, but I never had 'the talk' about college and career goals. I never had any help researching schools or financial aid. I never did a single campus visit. 35k worth of loans is a TINY price to pay for never having to ask my parents for any money during school.

***EDIT***

Just did a quick google search and currently, my alma mater has the estimated total cost for in-state at 24k a year. I'd love to see the part-time job that allows one to make it through without loans or parental help.

Another thing is the cost benefit ratio: how can one justify 100 grand college degree to get a 40 grand job? Once again I wish trade schools were more active. We need more truck drivers and mechanics and less etheral foo foo degrees.

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Yeah, that sounds about right to me. The idea of working through school and graduating without debt sounds just as foreign to me as I'm sure a 100k student loan does to CBear. I think I was looking at about 15k worth of academic cost (tuition, books, fees, etc.) a year. And this was for a public, in-state school. I worked 30+ hrs a week just for rent (at a cheap, off campus apartment), food, gas, etc. I make a lot more now than I did at my crap job in college, but I'd still have to take out a loan, even with my current salary.

In the end though, I'm satisfied. Sure, there are some choices I might have made differently and I'll gladly pass on that advice to my future kids when the time come. But at the risk of sounding like I have a chip on my shoulder, I think I greatly over acheived when I look at the help I had. My mom always encouraged good grades, but I never had 'the talk' about college and career goals. I never had any help researching schools or financial aid. I never did a single campus visit. 35k worth of loans is a TINY price to pay for never having to ask my parents for any money during school.

***EDIT***

Just did a quick google search and currently, my alma mater has the estimated total cost for in-state at 24k a year. I'd love to see the part-time job that allows one to make it through without loans or parental help.

My alma is at 4k a semester for tuition and books. Thats not too bad.

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Another thing is the cost benefit ratio: how can one justify 100 grand college degree to get a 40 grand job? Once again I wish trade schools were more active. We need more truck drivers and mechanics and less etheral foo foo degrees.

Just to clarify, the 24k was the total cost they estimated per year- including room and board, food, etc. Looks like tuition is about 6k a semester.

Is it worth it? Well, let's say a college grad averages only 10k a year more in earnings than a high school grad. In 10 years, you would have laid off your loan and the excess would be yours. Now, I know I grossly over simplified this (didn't take into account interest rates, loss wages for the time spent in school, ROI on the type of degree, etc.), but I think the overall point is still valid.

Additionally, I'd expect the difference in wages between high school/college graduates to widen as their respective careers progress. Technically, my job does not require a college degree and I have several co-workers that do not have degrees. If you assume our salaries are equal, then after deducting my loan payments, they'd have a higher take home pay. However, my company does require a college degree to move into management. That's when I expect to see a greater ROI on my education. Hence, even though I may not have landed that 100k consulting job on Wall Street straight out of college, I'd still say my degree was worth it.

As for trade schools, I have mixed feelings. I'll try to expand on that later.